


Dick's Mates

by YourWettestDream



Category: Supernatural RPF
Genre: Age Difference, Alternate Universe - College/University, Angst, Attraction, M/M, Romance, Sexual Tension, Underage Drinking
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-08
Updated: 2017-10-21
Packaged: 2019-01-10 12:26:39
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,917
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12299238
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/YourWettestDream/pseuds/YourWettestDream
Summary: AU. College. Jared is a 17-year-old nerd college freshman. Jensen is the heir to the fortune of a father who has all but disinherited him. They won't stop meeting each other, and they can't help what happens to them.They won't even see what's coming until it's there.





	1. Prologue

_July 19_

 

After turning his tenth shot of tequila, Jensen’s judging capacity was way past damaged. He thought that as he ordered yet another round to Richard, who looked at the lone man at the counter with such pity in his eyes one would think Jensen might have been the unluckiest man alive. Then again, his life wasn’t really good right now.

 

Whenever he had one of his life crisis, he would turn to drinking at Dick’s Mates, but usually he came along with his uni friends. However, as fate would have it, this night Jensen didn’t have any of his friends around to stop him from doing anything stupid, so there he was, a pitiable drunk loner sitting at a pitiful gay bar that went by one of the dorkiest names he knew.

 

Richard remained observant, but far away, as he didn’t have only Jensen to tend to. That was okay with him. He really didn’t want or need anyone meddling with his mental craze right now.

 

“A cosmo, please”

 

Jensen started as a voice that was definitely younger boomed to his left at the bar. Looking to the side, he contemplated the face of a man - no, a boy -, who couldn’t, by any means, be of drinking age. From his profile Jensen could see he had a remarkably pointed nose, along with a fringe that covered his eyes partially. Quite obviously, he inspected the gangly boy’s body from head to toe, finding that, oh yes, he liked the view quite a lot despite the leanness, and that those hands were much too big for not being used. A shiver went through him. He was instantly turned on, and the sudden swell between his legs could attest to that just fine.

 

The boy must’ve noticed his stare, for he turned around to face the older man, and at that moment he was stunned. Those were definitely the most expressive eyes he’d ever seen. Not only were they tilted and cat-like, they were also the most beautiful natural kaleidoscope he’d ever put his sight upon. _Wow._

 

Laughing, said boy looked down as he blushed, then shyly looked up again from behind his bangs. “Hey. Name’s Jared. What’s yours?”

 

Blinking, Jensen was bemused “’m sorry, wha?”. _That was random. Had the boy read his mind or something?_

 

Laughing again, Jared offered “I’m not a mind reader, nor am I a boy. But you did show quite the reaction to my presence. All I can say is you’re pretty wow yourself, uhm, …?”

 

Richard came back with Jared’s cosmo, looking from one man to another a tad suspiciously. Then he turned around and went to mind his own business again. “Oh shit I said it out loud, didn’t I?” the man scratched the back of his neck in an old gesture of embarrassment. “Jensen. That’s my name”.

 

“Great, nice to meet you, Jensen. D’you wanna a drink?”

 

Jensen knew, deep down, that he’d already had enough for the night, but then again, that’s what happens when you drink beyond the point of better judgement: you can’t tell anymore whether or not to stop drinking. So both by inertia and by not being able to resist Jared, he agreed to one more drink. “Just not a cosmo”, he mocked. “Sure, whatever you want”, the other replied.

 

Turning to the owner of the bar, Jensen ordered again. “Hey, Dick. Another shot, please”. _Why not, right?_

 

At hearing Jared’s chuckle, Jensen looked at him inquisitively. “I guess that explains the bar’s name” he said as a way of response.

 

“Oh yeah”, he laughed in return “it is amusing. Still find it weird, though. But so is Dick”.

 

Laughing widely now, Jared agreed with a nod. “Yeah, well, he’s quite the character”

 

And Dick was. Almost too thin, Richard Roman looked perpetually shocked, eyes and mouth wide, and a smile that was both attractive and frightening. He wore tight jeans and a flashy blue wife beater, both of which looked normal enough, with only an underlying of “gay”. However, he topped that with a pink boa, red lipstick and long, fake peacock lashes. So much for discretion.

 

“So I gather you don’t come here much?”

 

“No, not really” he looked down into his cocktail, tracing his index over the rim of the glass. “This is my first time, actually”.

 

“I’m sorry, but are you even of age yet? I’m drunk, but not enough to not know you shouldn’t be drinking”

 

“Well I got in here, didn’t I?”. Yes, he had. _Fair enough_ , he figured, even if Dick’s Mates was so run-down it couldn’t afford to refuse clientele below twenty-one. _Fair enough, just let it slide, Jensen_ , the alcohol told him.

 

“Well, I guess you’re right” the man conceded. Richard put his eleventh shot in front of him and Jensen drank it at once.

 

“You bet I am”, he finally sipped his beverage and grimaced.

 

“Wow man, that’s a cosmo. Not big on drinking, are you?”, Jensen smirked.

 

“Still getting used to it, yeah”

 

“Maybe that’s because you shouldn’t be drinking yet”

 

Looking up, Jared gazed at Jensen challengingly. “You seem so bothered by it. Want me to leave?”

 

 _Well…_ “Can’t say I do, no”

 

“I was hoping you’d say that” Jared grinned. Taking a generous gulp out of his beverage, he amended, “Ok, so I’ll be straight here”

 

 _You can’t really be straight anywhere within this place, kid_ , his mind supplied and he had to suppress a chuckle.

 

“I was over the corner with my friends, right? They’re a bunch of douchebags who thought it’d be a good idea to drag me into a gay bar on my birthday to get me drunk - yes, it’s my birthday - and have some fun. I couldn’t disagree more. However, when I saw you here, big lonely guy drinking himself to death, I thought, ‘why not, let’s take that friendly advice’ and I came all the way here so we could meet. And, alas, you made it easier for me by staring at me in a very obvious way. So I think we both want the same thing, and we both know where this could go, so. Let’s?”

 

Eyebrows up to his hairline, Jensen felt surprised, charmed and objectified all at once “Phew, you practiced that speech, did you?”

 

Sighing, Jared fiddled with the edge of the glass in his hands, staring it down intensely “Yeah, sorry. Just, I’m not very good at this”.

 

 _Not yet_ , Jensen mused. _Too young, maybe_. After pausing briefly to consider his next words in a weird act of sobriety, Jensen demanded “I’ll ask you this again. Are you legal?”

 

Tension filled the air as Jared stared into his eyes, and Jensen could see all the gears turning inside the kid’s brain. That wasn’t the same question that had arisen before, and they both knew it. _Straight to the point_ , they were in sync with each other. Taking his cosmo and downing it at once as if to man up to the answer, Jared drew slowly closer to Jensen, all but whispering against his mouth.

 

“Yes... Today I am”

 

“My birthday as well tonight, huh?” the man said, lips barely brushing against the other’s mouth, the breath of tequila coming out not disgusting, but enticing, somehow.

 

Gulping, Jared nodded feebly, eyes glued to the face before him “Can be”.

 

Drawing back a little so he wouldn’t jump the kid, Jensen looked around. “Your friends won’t mind?”. It was bad enough he had his doubts about the rightness of what he was doing, it would be even worse if he decided to give everyone a show about it.

 

“Not one bit”. Looking into the boy’s face again, Jensen tried to reassure himself once more that this was okay. Alcohol having muddled his brain out of any and all judgment capacity, he tossed money from his wallet on the counter, paying for both his shots and Jared’s drink.

 

Taking the teenager’s hand, he started for the door of the alley entrance “Let’s go then, I live closeby”. However, before they could go much further into the street lights, Jared pulled him by the arm, as he pressed himself against the wall.

 

Out of viewing range from everyone, Jensen let his sense go AWOL as he enveloped the gangly kid with hands on his face and waist, kissing him hotly and earning a strangled moan in return. They snogged ferociously, their intensity escalating as they practically rutted against the alley brick wall.

 

Under weak illumination, Jensen felt for rather than saw Jared’s buckle, undoing his belt as the boy gave him the same treatment. Gasps filled the night air as both males traded their pleasures, bringing each other to the peak much faster than they both thought it would last. Jensen’s mouth descended to Jared’s neck, nibbling on his collarbone, then up to his earlobe, then neck and shoulder again in a frantic dance.

 

The boy was a stark combination of delicate groans and strong and rapid friction on Jensen’s manhood, while his other hand tried to get everywhere at once. Squeezing the older man’s ass with one hand, he bit his shoulder and gasped as he came, hearing the other one go over the edge as well, a few pushes and pulls later.

 

Panting, they stood leaning against each other on the wall, coming down from something they hadn’t really seen coming. Counterintuitively, Jensen felt more alert then, as things slowly began to slot into place. He realised with some shock that he was in an alley in the wee hours of night, his clothes dirtied with mixed spunk, after having drunk more than he should and fooled around with a kid. A KID!

 

As those thoughts filled his mind, panic started to course through him and he started breathing faster, thinking of how much a screw up he was. _What would my dad say then, huh? Maybe he’s right, after all. I gotta fix this. I gotta fix this_ now.

 

As he detached himself from Jared, said boy gazed at him, his stance melted against the wall, his features the purest display of relaxation. Jensen thought he was absolutely gorgeous. At spotting Jensen’s distress, the boy became alert himself, the easiness partially gone, intensity back into his hypnotising eyes. His gaze became set on something Jensen thought then as dangerous, something he found himself unable to run away from.

 

Grabbing the short hair at the back of his head with one hand, Jared kissed him deeply, savouring the plump lips of the man before him as he tried to perpetrate a wordless message.

 

“Let’s go to your place. This isn’t over yet”.

 

And for the second, but not last time that night, Jensen thought ‘why not?’, and followed the kid dumbly into the night.


	2. Jared

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Effing finally, yeah!?
> 
> See, this has been ready for a while now. Or kinda. But I had to review it a thousand times, and that took time, and I hope it's good and you guys enjoy it.
> 
> Besides, I did say I was gonna post a new chapter every two weeks or something, so here I am posting the first chapter twelve days after the Prologue. I also think giving time to post new stuff will make it possible for me to write and deliver something good (I'm not very used to multichapters, you see). So there you have it.
> 
> Last but not least, you'll see I've added a few characters in this chapter. That'll happen in the new chapters to come, and I may or may not add new tags as well. I don't want to reveal everything just yet - hehehe - even though I'm not so mysterious and some of you might find the plot obvious. If that happens, I'm sorry.
> 
> Enjoy!

**Chapter 1: Jared**

 

_July 20_

 

Jared woke up just as his phone chimed its last beep, ringing enough to get him awake, but not enough so he could get it. A heavy sleeper as he was, his own alarm usually went off for ages before he stopped it. Chad was usually up and at him by that point, swearing at him for the big deaf sloth he called his friend.

 

This morning there was no such complaint. Turning around in his bed, Jared looked across the room to where his roommate should be, only to find the bedding as tidy as it had been the previous night, before they went to that bar with the funny name. Which reminded him.

 

Jensen.

 

 _What the hell was I thinking?_ he asked himself. Jared was usually the nerdy type, awkward in his six foot of scrawny limbs, huge eyes behind reading glasses as he went through all the books of the nearest library. Granted, such thirst for knowledge had earned him a full-scholarship into college, and for that he was glad, but in most cases it just made him feel sorry for disrupting the world of its normalcy with his genius wickedness.

 

So last night was definitely a page taken out of someone else’s book. Chad and Milo had dragged his ass to the bar nearest to campus, which just happened to be Dick’s Mates. They sat him down and started ordering for him. “It’s your birthday”, they said. “You have to celebrate”, they said.

 

Jared didn’t know how they’d gotten in there incognito, since they were all underage. He guessed Chad must have gotten them fake IDs or something, and that it must have been part of the birthday package. Either that or the total lack of fiscalization at the door had made it easier for them. Illegal IDs and illegal drinking. That was his friends’ idea of fun.

 

He hadn’t made it further than his unwilling second beer when Chad was done making eyes with someone across the bar and went over to them. Clearly, it had gone over so fine he’d spent the night wherever he went off to. If he didn’t show up by midday, though, Jared was going to summon a search party with Milo to find their reckless blond friend. Even if Jared didn’t look much forward to finding Chad in whatever state of undress and debauchery he was sure to be found in.

 

After the blond was gone, Milo had looked around and pointed him to the older male at the bar. And that’s where it got out of character for him. Because he hadn’t thought once that chatting the gorgeous stranger up might be a bad idea. In fact, he figured, he should definitely do it. Back then he’d felt sober enough, but now he saw that, while he hadn’t been tipsy or dizzy at all, the two beers had injected him with courage he wouldn’t normally have. The perks of having a low resistance, he supposed.

 

He’d ordered a cosmo, just to do the stereotype justice, and had made small talk with said stranger. Jensen was his name, and he was much drunker than Jared could have imagined. For a moment he wondered if taking him would be a mistake, but his mind supplied him with two thoughts that urged him on. The first and most addled one urged it didn’t matter anyway. _‘Stop trying to talk yourself out of it, Jay’_ . And the second, most sober one, reasoned ‘ _hey,_ I _am the weaker party here for I am younger, so if he’s so drunk he can’t really choose that just makes us even, right?’_ Sure.

 

That had been, funnily enough, one of the things the green-eyed god wouldn’t let go of. _Are you old enough to drink, Jared? Are you old enough to_ fuck _?_

 

And when he’d answered that, yes, yesterday he had been old _enough_ , he wasn’t exactly lying. It _really_ was his 17th birthday. And thinking of the happenings of that night at Jensen’s place, Jared thought he’d never had such a birthday gift given to him so deliciously.

 

Shuddering, he began recollecting everything. Granted, Jared had already fooled around, but never had it been with anyone older than him, and never had it gone that far. Before yesterday, he’d been a boy who got off in bathrooms trading handjobs with half-strangers and childhood acquaintances. Yesterday, as Jensen prepped and entered him, he’d become a man.

 

It had been coming all night long, in fact. Every time he’d uttered a command, he couldn’t help but feel like he was watching someone else say it for him. Adulthood had been creeping up on him. Maybe he had it bottled up all along - due to his history - but drinking had unleashed that part of him which was such a natural at decision making and order giving.

 

 _What a power bottom_ , he thought self-mockingly.

 

Under daylight, Jared felt as though that maturity had vanished again. He felt fragile and insecure, and he started questioning himself about the truthness of what he thought had happened.

 

Getting up from bed, he reached for his phone to check whose call he’d missed, only to see it was unknown. _Well that’s odd_ , the thought. Not a lot of people had his number, and he liked to think he knew all the ones who did. _Whoever’s trying to get to me will call again_ , he reasoned as he put the phone back down on his desk and went into the bathroom.

 

Facing himself in the mirror, Jared gasped in surprise. His body harboured a field of marks, lovebites and scratches that had appeared overnight. _So it_ was _real_. And he remembered it: how he’d almost magically known the way to Jensen’s apartment only two blocks from Dick’s Mates; how he’d led the way to the door, onto which he was slammed as soon as he stepped foot into the place. How they’d ravished each other on the spot, then stumbling their way to the sofa, and then to the bed not so far away. How he’d revelled on the pleasure given to him, and how that seemed to pleasure the other man in return. How he’d pushed his boundaries, checking in one night what seemed to him like all the items in his list of firsts. How, after everything, he’d admired Jensen’s asleep features under the low light coming from the window. How he’d then up and fled for his dorm, feeling strangely like Cinderella running away from her prince after midnight.

 

Sensing agitation grow on him, he undressed and entered the shower, feeling his dick harden at once. He gave into it, jerking off slowly, his left hand trailing unconsciously to his hole. Touching it, he realised for the first time that morning that it was still tender, yet another evidence to the truth. He rubbed himself to completion, moans filling the shower stall and cum dripping down the wall. He sighed as he soaped himself and rinsed, finally ridding himself of the last vestiges of sex.

 

Wrapping a towel around his hips, he went through the mist that had become the bathroom and opened the door to be faced with a grinning Chad.

 

“Hey, fucker. Had a good night, I see”, his friend smiled lecherously. Jared blushed all over at the attention, vowing to never be caught shirtless within the next week. “Wow, it really got _caliente_!”

 

“Shut up, dude!”

 

“So, how was it? I was gone before you stopped complaining about us being awful friends”

 

“And you guys _are_ awful”, he confirmed, but they both knew it wasn’t for real. They’d known each other for too long for things like that to be anything but teasing. “Where did _you_ run off to? At least I was here in the morning”, he dodged the question.

 

“Oh no, no, no, don’t try to distract me!”

 

“I’m not! I’m just seriously curious as to where you’ve been, I was about to go after you, I-”

 

“So you really want to know that I found this couple who were looking for a third party to have some fun, and then we went to the bathroom and it got _dirty_ , but we weren’t done, so we went to this swing club and there were manacles and fur and-”

 

“OK I don’t wanna know-”

 

“-and _geez_ I didn’t know I could take so much in either extremity, that was really hardcore”.

 

“I don’t think I’ll ever be able to unhear this, will I?”, Jared mused miserably as he went through his things looking for a new pair of jeans and a shirt.

 

“I sure hope not, but hey, you asked”, he smirked, the asshole. “So, how was it?”, Chad insisted as he threw himself on the bed, propping his head back on his hands.

 

Jared fiddled with the button of his jeans for a moment, not so keen on replying his friend. Here it was again, that insecurity, the juvenile shame of doing ‘adult stuff’ with a gorgeous stranger he’d never see again. “It was good”, he said as he donned a grey shirt, throwing a reddish flannel on top. And he felt that, as much as ‘good’ was an understatement for what had happened, it was also true: many good memories had been born the previous night.

 

“That’s all? Good? Dude, not to pry or anything - who cares anyway - but those marks tell a different story”.

 

“What marks?” he tried weakly, faking innocence now that his torso was thoroughly covered.

 

“What mar- Jared, cut it out!”

 

“Okay, okay”, he knew it wouldn’t work anyway. “Yeah, it was great. Guy was gorgeous, we went to his place, and after everything happened he passed out and I came back alone”.

 

“So that means he popped your cherry?”

 

“Chad…” Jared facepalmed, blushing furiously.

 

“HE DID! OH GOD, HE-” Chad went to the window and threw it open “JAYBIRD IS NOW A MAAAAN!”, he bellowed.

 

“GOD, CHAD, GET OUT OF THERE!”, he was beyond mortified now. Wrenching his friend away from the window and slamming it closed, he pointed to the bathroom and ordered like a mom who is trying to discipline her son would. “Go take a shower! You stink of a thousand people on you!”

 

“Jay, I get all tingly when you take control like that”, he winked.

 

At that moment, Jared’s phone rang again, an unknown number. Both boys seemed caught off guard, but Chad recovered fast, his face a lewd mask. “Maybe you gave him your number last night, did ya?”, he winked one more time.

 

No. He was a hundred percent sure he hadn’t. “Not really, no”. Whoever it was, he figured, must have wanted to talk to him. So he answered the call while making a ‘shh’ sign to his obnoxious blond friend.

 

“Hello?”

 

 _“Hi. Jared, is that you?”_ , a female voice chimed in. Chad gestured towards him, silently asking who the interlocutor was.

 

“Yes, that’s me. I’m sorry, who…?”

 

_“It’s Kelly, don’t you remember me?”_

 

“Oh, right, Kelly”, he sobered up. It had been a long time. Even Chad knew to keep quiet, then. “What’s with the new number?”

 

_“Of course, the number. We had to change it a couple weeks ago, but we didn’t get around to informing everyone of the new one yet. So I had something to talk to you about and figured I could do both at once”._

 

“Sure, no problem”, he paused. “What’s up, Kelly?”, he asked. Kelly Kline was a beautiful, sweet, good natured woman. Jared guessed he liked her well enough, but talking to her, given the circumstances, was a matter that unfortunately always got him anxious and foreboding. He glanced at Chad, who examined him closely, and then turned back to looking out the window, bracing himself for the response.

 

_“Nothing bad, I assure you. Actually, it might even be good for you. I’d like to schedule an appointment so we could talk it out, what do you think? When are you free?”_

 

“Uh, I’m pretty much I’m free to do whatever until the 23rd of August”

 

_“Hm, I see. We’re quite busy this week and the next, can I put you somewhere in the middle of August? Say, the 15th?”_

 

“Yeah, sure, no problem”.

 

 _“Ok then, 3pm good for you?”,_ she asked. “Sure”.

 

_“Great. It’s always great talking to you, Jared. How’s it going? Settling in okay?”_

 

“Peachy. Everything’s absolutely smooth”.

 

_“That’s fantastic. So let me know if you need anything, okay? Please remember to save this number. I’ll see you in the 15th, 3pm. Take care!”_

 

“Sure thing, Kelly. Bye”, he said and hung up.

 

“So, what did she want?” Chad inquired.

 

“She didn’t say a lot, actually. Just wanted to schedule a meeting. It’ll be the 15th. I didn’t want to ask what it was about, honestly”, he said. He sat down heavily onto his bed, tiredly combing the hair away from his face with his fingers.

 

“Yeah, I feel you. Try and chill out, dude. There’s no use in stressing over this for the next month. I’ll go take a shower and then we can go have something to eat. Deal?” As if on cue, Jared’s stomach growled his reply as Chad laughed his way into the bathroom. Getting up again, he picked up an old radio he’d been given as a child, and tuned it into a random station that was playing classic rock music.

 

Lying down on the bed, he felt suddenly really tired. Closing his eyes, he fell asleep as Simple Man played on the radio, the noise of water hitting the tiles in the adjacent room fading to the background.

 

* * *

 

_August 2_

 

 _...and that was Deep Purple’s_ Smoke in the Water _. It is now 10:17 CT and you’re listening to Tempo Rock, the best show for all lovers, appreciators and sommeliers of the best musical style! And remember, if you don’t rock it yet, you just haven’t found the right tune for you, because of one thing you can be certain: we.will.rock.you! Next, there’s Styx’s_ Renegade _, followed by ACDC’s_ Thunderstruck _and Kansas’_ Carry On My Wayward Son! _Enjoy…_

 

As the infamous narrator stopped talking and the chords of Renegade faded in, Jared relaxed against the pillow on his bed. He’d gotten used to listening to the old radio when he was alone in the dorm, which happened more and more frequently lately. During the day he was usually in the library, honouring his title as a class A nerd by doing  previous study of the subjects he’d have come the beginning of classes. However, when he turned in at night, and all the way to early mornings, Chad was gone. The blond reasoned those were his last days of freedom before hell began, and he would not be caught dead within a hundred feet of the library or any of the lecture rooms before it was time, if he could avoid it. So Chad partied and partied endlessly, or so Jared guessed, and he wondered how his friend managed to stay alive. Partying was pretty exhausting, in his opinion.

 

Today, however, he would be going out along with Milo to do a tour around the faculties, so he could get better acquainted with the campus before the semester began. Official orientation schedule only began later in August, but so far he’d already attended a few welcome reunions conducted by an _ad hoc_ committee of very excited both sorority and fraternity members. The imminent guidance would be directed by the committee, which always sent a boy and a girl to do the tour.

 

He had also been given what seemed to him like a dozen official booklets about various subjects concerning Business School and the university. The pile of pamphlets stood on his desk and he hadn’t been given any new ones. But apparently, to the local chapter houses, getting to know campus through _in loco_ tours was much more exciting than getting that knowledge out of the lifeless pages of an orientation magazine.

 

Besides studying at will and involuntarily touring in the university grounds, Jared also found himself being repeatedly led back to thoughts of his birthday. At first it was the obvious physical proof of what had happened that made him have those thoughts. He couldn’t help it that, time after time, his hands kept trailing down to his groin whenever he shed his clothes.

 

But a whole week after what had gone down between them, Jensen’s phantom memory still affected him.

 

So after even the hickeys and lovebites left his skin and all he was left with was the rapidly dissolving vapour of memories, Jared saw his mind going down an insane loop of illusions. He would see Jensen entering a black old car parked on campus at night. He would leave the library when it closed, and sensing someone staring at him, he would look over his shoulder to see Jensen closing the door he’d just walked out from.

 

It didn’t happen just at night, though. Sometimes he would cross ways with Jensen in the corridor of the dorms, or see his figure disappearing beyond the corner of the refectory building after lunch. It got to the point where Jared once mistook Chad’s fair hair for Jensen’s dirty blond one, and by then he had had enough.

 

But there was nothing he could do. Revisiting those memories, it jumped at him with staggering clarity that the black car was actually dark blue and belonged to the boyfriend of a girl who lived in the female dorms. That the guy who worked at the library, Brock Kelly, was not Jensen, even if they did resemble each other. That there was no “Jensen” in the male dorm rooms, and that Jensen didn’t happen to sit beside him to have lunch, or anywhere in the refectory, for that matter.

 

Sighing, he got up and went to the bathroom to wash his face clean of that train of thought just as ‘Carry On My Wayward Son’ ended. Jared felt like it was the theme song of some movie… Or was it a series? He wasn’t sure, really.

 

 _And that, my friends, was the last one for today._ He heard a fake _‘Aaaaaaaw’_ chorus. _This is Dr. Bad-ass, straight from Tempo Rock! See y’all tomorrow, and in the meantime, stay with Local News._ And then in a lower tone: _if you can stand it, seriously, what a boring piece of-_

 

Static boomed out of the radio’s speaker, cutting Dr. Bad-Ass’ phrase short. Jared couldn’t help but chuckle. The guy was insane. Then the noise stopped, and the artificial intro of another program came in, announcing the Local News.

 

_Today, on Local News: thirteen people were badly hurt on a bank robbery downtown; the mayor, Jim Novak, tries new entrepreneur alliance to boost the local economy-_

 

Someone knocked on the door four times, making a known melody. “Come on in, it’s open”, Jared commanded. Swinging the door open in came Milo, his bad boy stance perpetually unaltered. “Hey, man”.

 

“Hey”.

 

_...music mogul Alan Ackles gives interview about the future of his company-_

 

“What’s with the news channel? Are you into that too, now?”, he asked, pointing to the radio with his chin. Looking down at the forgotten thing, Jared shook his head in negative. “Nope, was just about to turn it off, in fact”, he said pressing the off button, “was listening to some music before that”. Getting his phone and keys, he motioned for the door. “Shall we?”

 

“Yes, _sire_ ” the other man mocked, hands shoved deep in the pockets of his moleton pants as Jared locked the door.

 

“Shut up”, he admonished jokingly and started down the hall. “So, how you doing?”

 

“Pretty good, actually. Alexis is back. Said she wanted to hang out with the gang”.

 

“Oh yeah?”

 

“Yeah”, he confirmed, crossing the grass in front of the dorms while looking down at his feet, “apparently she’s here for good”.

 

“Wow, that’s great, man”, Jared commented. He liked Alexis well enough, he guessed. So much so that he had thought he had been in love with her, and she had been his first kiss. It was before he knew he was solely into men, that is.

 

“Yeah, I know, right?”, he looked up at Jared. At that moment the taller boy could witness one of Milo's rare true smiles. “She’s in a good family. They’re helping her settle and I think she’ll be more stable from now on”.

 

“Well, I’m really happy for you guys”.

 

“Yeah, me too. What about you, man? Same old?”

 

“Same old. Just…” he discontinued. What should he say? That Kelly’s meeting was drawing close and he was freaking out? Or was it better to tell he was imagining he was seeing a man he saw _once_ almost two weeks ago? _You did quite more than just_ see _him, Jared_ , his brain helped. Yeah, right. All he wished was for Jensen to get out of his mind. “...just anxious with the beginning of classes, you know?”

 

“Relax, it’s pretty far away. But I get you. Kinda. I’m not as nerdy as you”, Milo poked.

 

“Yeah, maybe you’re right. Maybe I just ought to relax”. Right.

 

They walked for a bit more in companionable silence. You see, that was the thing about Milo. He and Jared had known each other since forever, so they were comfortable around one another. That and Jared was one of the few persons who met Milo when he was still a nice guy. He suppressed a smile. Milo’s broody complexion and untalkative behavior didn’t exactly invite people in. But he knew Milo inside out, and he was also very quiet himself, so they got along just fine.

 

Beyond the grass that surrounded the dorms there was a track of gravel that snaked its way and grew branches through campus till it got out of sight. Jared and Milo crossed said track and headed for the courtyard that stood in front of the library, close to the rectory and the fine arts complex.

 

There was a statue of some historical relevant character in the middle of a fountain, around which a small group of students stood. Big trees with large canopies were placed sparsely at different distances from the center in which the spring stood, giving intermittent shade to those who wandered during the day. The only part entirely uncovered was where the small crowd stood, exactly the place Jared and Milo were going to.

 

As they approached, they heard the firm and commanding voice of a young woman speaking for everyone to hear. “Okay, so let’s begin. Is everyone here yet? Well I hope so. My name is Sophia Bush, I’m a student in the College of Fine Arts. This is Tom Welling,” she said pointing to a blue-eyed, brown-haired handsome guy beside her. The both of them wore shirts displaying the symbol of their houses. Together, they looked like the perfect jock and cheerleader pair, but she looked much fiercer than he did. “He’s bacheloring in the Business School”, she finished. The young man had barely had time to wave his hand in greeting when she continued. “We’ll be your guides for today’s tour. So, I guess we’ll begin, right?”, she asked rhetorically, clapping her hands together. Gesturing to the area encompassing the whole place they were in, she started speaking. “This, as you all can see, is the main court. That’s where it all began…”, someone raised their hand and she conceded impatiently, “yes?”

 

“Are you single?”

 

As everyone did a double-take to regard the asker of the question, Milo and Jared rolled their eyes at recognizing their friend’s voice. _So I guess Chad doesn’t only party his life away_ , he mused. _Maybe he spends his whole day pestering defenseless attractive girls and boys alike on campus._

 

“That is completely beside the point, Mr. Murray. Now, as this is a college guidance tour, and not a kindergarten playground, I would very much appreciate it if everyone let the program flow as scheduled, without impertinent interruptions, is that clear?”

 

“Yes, but I don’t get why you won’t talk to-”

 

“Or else you can _leave_ the demonstration at once, am I understood?”

 

“Sure, but-

 

“Mr. Murray-”, she spat, her face growing rouge, fists tightening at her sides.

 

“Wow, this time Chad landed himself one hell of a woman”, Jared whispered leaning closer to Milo, who tsked and nodded in agreement.

 

“-if you continue acting like this I’ll have to kick your ass out of here and all the way back to where you’re from!”

 

Chad snickered, “no, you really couldn’t”.

 

“Ok, ok, excuse me miss, my name is Milo”, Milo said, propelling himself forward unwillingly as all faces turned to him now, “and I’m sorry for what my friend here said and did, we were babysitting him but he fled the crib before we could catch ‘im”.

 

“Wha?”, Chad demanded indignantly as Milo got hold of his arm, pulling him towards the back of the group.

 

“Ain’t it right, Jay?”

 

“Oh, yes, we’re sorry, he’ll be quiet now”, he agreed apologetically, putting a hand on Chad’s shoulder.

 

Sophia looked at them amusedly and nodded her consent. “Ok then, no problem. Thanks for your… Intervention. So, as I was saying…”

 

As she continued where she’d been interrupted, Chad slapped Jared’s hand away and crossed his arms stubbornly, muttering hotly at his friends, accusation in his eyes “I can’t believe you guys just humiliated me in front of Sophia!”

 

“I can’t believe that’s where you disappear to every damn day, Chad!”, Jared retorted.

 

“Where?”

 

“To harass the poor girl!”

 

“That wasn’t harassing! Besides, she was beginning to give in, until you guys humiliated me in front of her! Now I’m back to ground zero!”

 

“Believe me,” Milo snorted, “you were humiliating yourself just fine without our help. Now that she sees you have friends who can do the thinking for you, she might just reconsider completely exterminating your race”.

 

“Well that’s… Ok you’re probably right”, he admitted miserably.

 

“He is, dude”, Jared clapped his back this time, “but chill out. Let’s hear what she has to say, right?”

 

“But she’s talking about _History!_ ”, he protested with the petulance of a child who didn’t understand why they had to do homework before playtime. And accordingly, with the patience of a father, Jared laid it out for him. “Yeah, well, History’s important. For one thing, it’s essential so we don’t repeat the mistakes of the past. For another, it explains who you are today. Which leads to the third reason why it’s important: it explains why things work the way they do and points the way to the paths we should thread in the future. And last but not least, it is fascinating. And okay, I might be going out on the geeky side, but to use an analogy you’ll understand, History can be as fascinating as-”, Jared looked up, searching in the distance for a comparison that would appeal enough to Chad so he could make his point. What he saw, however, robbed him of all speaking capacity, the only name he could produce at that moment tumbling out of his lips without his permission, “...Jensen”.

 

“What?”, Chad frowned, “okay, so I heard you talk about him and from what you said he’s a greek god or something, but he’s also disappeared for two weeks, man! Let it go!”, he argued.

 

“Jay?”, Milo asked, touching his upper arm, “Jay, you okay?”

 

But Jared wasn’t listening. He was truthfully and utterly freaking out. It was bad enough to imagine he was seeing Jensen when he was alone, but to have that happen when he was surrounded by people was too degrading. His eyes filled with tears as he couldn’t help but see the man coming out of one of the buildings just a bit over 150 feet ahead of them. That couldn’t be happening, he despaired, not again. Not here. Jared felt tormented and paralyzed in the fear that he was indeed going insane. His ears heard no sound as his friends called for him, all his senses zeroed onto that damned vision of a demi-stranger carrying a pile of books, the whole set a cruelly detailed creation of his sick mind.

 

Then it changed. As for the uptenth time that week he cursed the fact that he’d met Jensen, another person came out of the same red-bricked construction ‘Jensen’ had just appeared from. He watched with perplexity as the person, an older male with grey shoulder-length hair and spotlights for eyes, jogged and called out for the apparition, who turned back to answer the man. And they talked. And the apparition tried to give the man a book from his pile, but ended up letting one of them fall with a resounding thud that Jared could hear. And Jared _could_ hear the noise of the book slapping against the ground.

 

So either one thing or the other, he reasoned. Either his hallucination had just gotten even more creative and decided to include a completely new person he’d never seen along with audio enhancing, or Jensen was really there, just a few steps away, talking to a man with grey hair who seemed to be his mentor of some sort.

 

Snapping out of his daze, Jared raised his hand in the air. “Sophia?”

 

“Yes?”, she replied.

 

“What building is that?”, he asked while pointing at the block Jensen and the stranger stood in front of. He was panting slightly, anticipation making him breathless.

 

“Oh, that is the first Fine Arts building that was ever made in this campus. It was built in 1923, but after that many others came to be, as it was with the Greek Theatre and the new classrooms block just behind that first construction”, she provided proudly. “Seizing your very opportune question, that”, and she pointed to the grey-haired man, “is the head of the Fine Arts College, also Chords and Piano professor, Mr. Timothy Omudson. He’s very solicitous and also very talented, and he runs regular concerts twice a year”.

 

“Sophia?”, a girl whose features were as red as a tomato called out. Nevertheless her embarrassed exterior, that never stopped her next question. “And who would be that young man accompanying him?”, she giggled.

 

Rolling her eyes halfway amused and halfway annoyed, Sophia started while trying to hold back a smile, “I’ll only say it if you promise not to tell him I’ve told ya”, she joked.

 

“We promise!” was the chorus. And then she uttered the words that would change Jared’s college experience for good.

 

“That would be Music senior student and Mr. Omudson’s assistant, Jensen Ross Shaffer”.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was posted on 10/21/2017
> 
> Comments are deeply appreciated!

**Author's Note:**

> This is it for now, but I'll keep adding tags as the work progresses. This might make five chapters or so. New chapters every fortnight or less.
> 
> Feedback is immensely appreciated!


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